pprendeville Posted October 13, 2012 at 09:09 AM Report Share Posted October 13, 2012 at 09:09 AM 不是几个星期就来，是一个星期以后才回来。I can't get my head around this one. Seems to be something like "it's not that you'll be back in a few weeks but after a few weeks". The context the sentence is being used in is as follows (comes from Integrated Chinese): older brother leaving younger sister behind in foreign country and she is worried she has nobody with her. He's reassuring her he'll be back in a few weeks. Probably shouldn't be trying to do a direct translation. I can't think of any equivalent in English for this although I know it's not a good idea to be doing this but for the purposes of understanding this one it would handy if there was something to relate it to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
li3wei1 Posted October 13, 2012 at 09:32 AM Report Share Posted October 13, 2012 at 09:32 AM "I won't away for weeks, but it will be at least one week" Not sure if that's accurate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tiana Posted October 13, 2012 at 10:25 AM Report Share Posted October 13, 2012 at 10:25 AM The sentence seems a bit unusual to me (probably due to my lack of exposure): 不是几个星期就来，是一个星期以后才回来。 If I could swap the position of 就 and 才, then I'd translate it as: 不是几个星期才来，是一个星期以后就回来。= I won't be away for several weeks. I'll be back (as soon as) after a week. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
New Members Himin Posted October 19, 2012 at 04:40 AM New Members Report Share Posted October 19, 2012 at 04:40 AM （Text from the Integrated Chinese） …… 王朋：不急，还有二十分钟呢。你怎么哭了呢？别哭，别哭。我一个月就回来了。 李友：什么“就”回来，你一个月以后“才”回来。(Just a month? <You mean> not until after a month.) …… So there is conversation could be: A：我一个星期就回来。 B：不是一个星期“就”回来，是一个星期“才”回来。 In the conversation, A think一个星期 might not quite a long time but B think it is a very long time for her. I agree with Tiana, the sentence should be不是几个星期“才”回来，是一个星期以后“就”回来了. In a real conversation it is more likely to say 不用几个星期，我一个星期以后就回来了。 (It’s just my own opinion :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abcdefg Posted October 20, 2012 at 02:37 AM Report Share Posted October 20, 2012 at 02:37 AM He's reassuring her he'll be back in a few weeks. He's reassuring her he will be back in one week. (Sooner than she thought.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
creamyhorror Posted October 20, 2012 at 04:37 AM Report Share Posted October 20, 2012 at 04:37 AM I'd read it as 不是几个星期后才回来，是一个星期后才回来。 I feel the original sentence is awkwardly phrased. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tiana Posted October 20, 2012 at 09:41 AM Report Share Posted October 20, 2012 at 09:41 AM So I'm not alone feeling that "不是几个星期就来，是一个星期以后才回来" is a bit unusual. Pprendeville, would you mind telling us where you get the sentence from? This is just so that we can better help you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and select your username and password later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.